Rafael Bracero
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Rafael Bracero Torres(born 1940 inSanturce, Puerto Rico) is aPuerto Ricansportscaster. Bracero graduated from theUniversity of Puerto Rico at Mayagüezthen known asColegio de Artes Mecánicas(College of Arts and Mechanical Arts -CAAMin Spanish) with a degree in civil engineering, and then he joinedPuerto Rico'sPerez PerryChannel 11to cover sports as their main reporter.
ThePerez Perry Networksoon went bankrupt and then Bracero became the night sportscaster onWAPA-TV,a position in which he performed at for two years and a half. At WAPA TV, their night news edition sportscasters were considered by WAPA executives as being second string to their afternoon news edition colleagues, so Bracero would, for those two years and a half, perform under the shadow ofLuis Rigual,WAPAs afternoon sportscaster. Nevertheless, he joined Rigual to coverbo xingfights and other live sporting events, and in sports documentaries. When Rigual died in 1983, Bracero became his substitute on the afternoon news cast.
Still as a WAPA sportscaster, Bracero worked with the transmissions ofBSNbasketballgames (which he shared withManolo Rivera MoralesandFufi Santori), bo xing telecasts,MLBbaseballgames andfootballgames. In 1988, he assisted with WAPA's transmission of the 1988SeoulOlympic Games.One of Bracero's catchphrases during his basketball game telecasts was "Eeel Canasto!!!" (loosely translated to "Theee basket"!) which he pronounced in a way similar toMarv Albert's "from downtown!* and became a popular phrase in Puerto Rican jargon at the time.
Bracero performed for WAPA TV as a sportscaster until he retired during 2017.[1]He has written various books and is also an engineer[citation needed].He has interviewed many sports stars, and he has traveled often to do specials and documentaries for bo xing fights, such as the one he did before the fight betweenHéctor CamachoandEdwin Rosario,and before Rosario's bout withJulio César Chávez.
On October 18, 2012, WAPA Television honored Bracero for being the station's main sportscaster during 30 years.[2]
Also during 2012, Bracero, along withJuan González,Félix Trinidad,Felix Trinidad Sr.and others, became a member of thePuerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
See also
[edit]- List of television reporters (Puerto Rico)
- List of Puerto Ricans
- Ernestito Díaz González
- Junior Abrams
- Manolo Rivera Morales
- Ramiro Martinez
- Fufi Santori
- Hector Vazquez Muñiz
References
[edit]- ^"Se retira Rafael Bracero".
- ^Arroyo, Efrén (October 18, 2012)."Orgullo boricua: Rafael Bracero Torres".Wapa TV(in Spanish).
- ^Vázquez, Ariel Rivera (October 7, 2012)."Rafael Bracero: inmortalizado en el salón de la fama".Wapa TV(in Spanish).